Santosh Kumar Jha is a craft & design educator, researcher, and explorer with around 15 years of experiences all together. To achieve sustenance for traditional crafts in contemporary contexts and preserving indigenous knowledge are few of his core areas of interest. He is a postgraduate alumnus of the Indian Institute of Crafts and Design-IICD Jaipur and the Central University of Pondicherry India; as well he is pursuing PhD research (in advance stage) in the interdisciplinary areas of craft, design, heritage and indigenous knowledge.

Jha teaches different pure and applied modules of the ‘accessories & product design’ as a core academician in Leather Accessories Design Department of the Footwear Design and Development Institute Noida (an Institute of National Importance, under FDDI Act 2017) in India and teaching undergraduate students. Prior joining the existing responsibility, he worked with the State Institute for Development of Arts and Crafts Bhubaneswar under the State Government of Odisha, Hitaishi KK Manufacturing Company Private Limited-Kolkata, Lion Picture and Frames India Limited Kolkata, Designwise India Private Limited Gurgaon, Mother Earth Bangalore, Crafts Design Center Jaipur, Sewa Lanka Foundation-Colombo etc. as a craft design expert. Further, he also explored professional journalism and mass-media through a number of Leading Daily News Papers (print media) and All Indian Radio (electronic media) etc. during his initial days of professional career.

In recognition of Jha’s philosophical and applied excellence, he had been received a large affiliation due to his distinguished professional contributions:
(1.) Best Faculty Award: Indian Academic Researches Association. India (2018)
(3.) National Finalist (Design Research & Education): Lexus Design Awards. India (2018)
(2.) National Winner (Tagline Design for National Oral Health Programme): Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India (2016)
(3.) Global Finalist (Director’s Choice): Art Toppling Tobacco, Australia (2014)
(4.) National Full Fellowship: Dakshinchitra & Madras Crafts Foundation, India (2007)
(5.) International Full Fellowship: Sewa Lanka Foundation, Sri Lanka (2006)
(6.) International Exchange Fellowship: The British Council & Royal College of Arts, London (2005)

As of now, Jha holds 03 provisional patents; Published 07 full research papers and 03 short papers, 02 position papers, 02 chapters in edited book, in different peer-reviewed international journals being published from India, Scotland and Netherlands – with excellent high scholastic level. Approximately 25-30 different indigenous knowledge based ‘Technology Transfers’ had been successfully implemented by him in India and abroad.